One of the keys to keeping shad alive is not have corners in whatever you put em in. Coolers are fine for perch but not shad. For shad get something round. Those big plastic buckets (25 gal+) with an aerator would work for shad. But shad a sensitive so they might die anyways. Perch will in a bucket, a cooler, tote box, etc... as long as you have an aerator.

Also in my experience never mix your shad and perch together. For some reason the shad die faster. They also produce alot of slime and kills the perch. I've never had shad last very Long. The bigger ones, if not to many, may last an hour or so in the 5 gallon setup.

Here's a link that tells you how to make your own homemade shad tank. And I imagine you can make it for less than $150 which isn't even a fraction of the costs you would pay for one of the overpriced custom made name brand shad tanks they sell online... hope this helps. I think I actually may make my own as well!!

Actually there is a nice oval aerated one at academy. Has insulated soft cover with pockets and carry straps, works great for minnows and would work well for a dozen or so threadfins. Has D cell air pump.